Florence Harrison Bell

Florence Harrison Bell

Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell (1865 – October 1948) was a British socialist and suffragist activist.

Life

Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne as Florence Harrison, she worked as a cook before studying at Armstrong College and becoming a teacher. In 1896, she married Joseph Nicholas Bell, general secretary of the National Amalgamated Union of Labour.[1][2] She became active in the Independent Labour Party (ILP), and was the first woman to serve on its National Administrative Council (NAC). In 1898, she was replaced on the NAC by Emmeline Pankhurst. Through the ILP, she became active in the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), and was the first secretary of the Newcastle LRC.[3]

In 1902, Bell became a director of the Newcastle Co-operative Society. By 1907, she was working as an organiser for the Women's Trade Union League. She was also active in the suffrage movement, holding membership of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and served as secretary of its local affiliate, the North East Society for Women's Suffrage. In 1909, she stood down from the position, and the following year she became secretary of the local branch of the Women's Labour League.[3]

Bell was elected to the executive of the Women's Labour League in 1913.[3] In 1918, she was elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee as part of a league slate. She lost her seat the following year, but served again later in the decade.[4]

She and her husband moved to North Finchley as they hoped that he would become an M.P. Her husband was elected as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle in 1922 but he died within a month of being elected. A local newspaper noted that he had been known as the husband of Florence Bell and speculated that Bell would clearly win if she stood for election. She did not stand.[5]

In 1923, Bell was chair of the Standing Joint Committee of Women's Organisations.[3] She remained active in the Labour Party, and stood in Luton at the 1929 UK general election, taking third place with 16.5% of the vote.[6]

References

  1. ↑ June Hannam and Karen Hunt, Socialist Women: Britain, 1880s to 1920s
  2. ↑ Cheryl Law, Women: a modern political dictionary, p.138
  3. 1 2 3 4 Elizabeth Crawford, The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866-1928, p.49
  4. ↑ Christine Collette, For Labour and for Women: The Women's Labour League, 1906-1918, p.189
  5. ↑ Dundee Evening Telegraph, December 1922
  6. ↑ F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949
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